The Osun Government has imposed an indefinite dusk-to-dawn curfew on Ilobu and Ifon Communities both in Orolu and Irepodun Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
The measure was coming in the wake of a communal clash between the two communities over a land dispute, which led to a total breakdown of law and order.
The clash took a turn on Sunday, when gunmen stormed a palace in Osun State, killing an admission seeker identified as Ibrahim Qudus and setting his corpse ablaze.
An uncle to the deceased, Prince Jimoh Qadri, who claimed to be the target of the murder, said the gunmen invaded his house in Okanla area Sunday morning and started shooting sporadically.
He said, “I went out this morning when my wife called me that some people numbering about 20 wearing hoods came home with guns.
“There was a person among them known as Kokanle who didn’t cover his face with the hood. They broke all my house windows.
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“I didn’t park my car outside so they thought I was at my family house at Olokanla compound. They came to search our family compound but I was not there.
“I got information that they met one of my younger brothers (Ibrahim Kudus) at home and he was killed with the house burnt. After killing the boy, they dragged him inside a car and burned him in the car.
“Kudus was 28-year-old. He was looking for admission into a higher institution. He sat for the last UTME.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr Kolapo Alimi, announced the curfew in a statement issued in Osogbo and made available to newsmen on Sunday.
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The statement disclosed that the curfew would hold “until further notice” between 8pm and 6am.
It also announced a restriction in both human and vehicular movements during the period of the curfew.
Alimi stated that the measure became necessary in order to enforce law and order in the two communities.
The statement partly read, “This is to inform the public that the attention of the Osun Government has been drawn to the communal clash over land dispute between Ilobu and Ifon communities.
“Based on this, Gov. Ademola Adeleke has directed that curfew begins immediately in the two LGAs of Orolu and Irepodun.”
“Anyone caught wandering or moving around in Irepodun and Orolu during the curfew will be arrested and prosecuted.
“The governor sued for peace between these two LGAs,” the commissioner added, while urging the warring communities to imbibe the spirit of love and unity.
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Meanwhile, the Spokesman for Osun Polic Command, SP Yemisi Opalola, has confirmed the death of one Sodiq Alamu, 28, in the clash, saying officers had been deployed to the area.
She said, “Someone was burnt with a car around Okanla, the area between Ifon and Ilobu. We have deployed our men to the area to forestall further breakdown of law. Even the Commissioner of Police went there. Normalcy is returning to the place.”
